From The Law Offices of Brian A. Raphan, P.C.

guardianships

ITHACA, N.Y. — Most nursing homes had fewer nurses and caretaking staff than they had reported to the government for years, according to new federal data, bolstering the long-held suspicions of many families that staffing levels were often inadequate.

The records for the first time reveal frequent and significant fluctuations in day-to-day staffing, with particularly large shortfalls on weekends. On the worst staffed days at an average facility, the new data show, on-duty personnel cared for nearly twice as many residents as they did when the staffing roster was fullest.

The data, analyzed by Kaiser Health News, come from daily payroll records Medicare only recently began gathering and publishing from more than 14,000 nursing homes, as required by the Affordable Care Act of 2010. Medicare previously had been rating each facility’s staffing levels based on the homes’ own unverified reports, making it possible to game the system.

The payroll records provide the strongest evidence that over the last decade, the government’s five-star rating system for nursing homes often exaggerated staffing levels and rarely identified the periods of thin staffing that were common. Medicare is now relying on the new data to evaluate staffing, but the revamped star ratings still mask the erratic levels of people working from day to day.

Stan Hugo with his wife, Donna, who is a resident at the Beechtree
Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing in Ithaca, N.Y. Mr. Hugo
tracks staffing levels at the skilled nursing facility.

At the Beechtree Center for Rehabilitation & Nursing here, Jay Vandemark, 47, who had a stroke last year, said he often roams the halls looking for an aide not already swamped with work when he needs help putting on his shirt.

Especially on weekends, he said, “It’s almost like a ghost town.”

Nearly 1.4 million people are cared for in skilled nursing facilities in the United States. When nursing homes are short of staff, nurses and aides scramble to deliver meals, ferry bedbound residents to the bathroom and answer calls for pain medication. Essential medical tasks such as repositioning a patient to avert bedsores can be overlooked when workers are overburdened, sometimes leading to avoidable hospitalizations.

“Volatility means there are gaps in care,” said David Stevenson, an associate professor of health policy at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tenn. “It’s not like the day-to-day life of nursing home residents and their needs vary substantially on a weekend and a weekday. They need to get dressed, to bathe and to eat every single day.”

David Gifford, a senior vice president at the American Health Care Association, a nursing home trade group, disagreed, saying there are legitimate reasons staffing varies. On weekends, for instance, there are fewer activities for residents and more family members around, he said.

“While staffing is important, what really matters is what the overall outcomes are,” he said.

While Medicare does not set a minimum resident-to-staff ratio, it does require the presence of a registered nurse for eight hours a day and a licensed nurse at all times.

The payroll records show that even facilities that Medicare rated positively for staffing levels on its Nursing Home Compare website, including Beechtree, were short nurses and aides on some days. On its best staffed days, Beechtree had one aide for every eight residents, while on its lowest staffed days, there was only one aide for 18 residents. Nursing levels also varied.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the federal agency that oversees nursing home inspections, said in a statement that it “is concerned and taking steps to address fluctuations in staffing levels” that have emerged from the new data. This month, it said it would lower ratings for nursing homes that had gone seven or more days without a registered nurse.

Beechtree’s payroll records showed similar staffing levels to those it had reported before. David Camerota, chief operating officer of Upstate Services Group, the for-profit chain that owns Beechtree, said in a statement that the facility has enough nurses and aides to properly care for its 120 residents. But, he said, like other nursing homes, Beechtree is in “a constant battle” to recruit and retain employees even as it has increased pay to be more competitive.

Mr. Camerota wrote that weekend staffing is a special challenge as employees are guaranteed every other weekend off. “This impacts our ability to have as many staff as we would really like to have,” he wrote.

New rating method is still flawed

In April, the government started using daily payroll reports to calculate average staffing ratings, replacing the old method, which relied on homes to report staffing for the two weeks before an inspection. The homes sometimes anticipated when an inspection would happen and could staff up before it.

The new records show that on at least one day during the last three months of 2017 — the most recent period for which data were available — a quarter of facilities reported no registered nurses at work.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services discouraged comparison of staffing under the two methods and said no one should expect them to “exactly match.” The agency said the methods measure different time periods and have different criteria for how to record hours that nurses worked. The nursing home industry also objected, with Mr. Gifford saying it was like comparing Fahrenheit and Celsius temperatures.

But several prominent researchers said the contrast was not only fair but also warranted, since Medicare is using the new data for the same purpose as the old: to rate nursing homes on its website. “It’s a worthwhile comparison,” said David Grabowski, a professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School.

Of the more than 14,000 nursing homes submitting payroll records, seven in 10 had lower staffing using the new method, with a 12 percent average decrease, the data show. And as numerous studies have found, homes with lower staffing tended to have more health code violations — another crucial measure of quality.

Even with more reliable data, Medicare’s five-star rating system still has shortcomings. Medicare still assigns stars by comparing a home to other facilities, essentially grading on a curve. As a result, many homes have kept their rating even though their payroll records showed lower staffing than before. Also, Medicare did not rate more than 1,000 facilities, either because of data anomalies or because they were too new to have a staffing history.

There is no consensus on optimal staffing levels. Medicare has rebuffed requests to set specific minimums, declaring in 2016 that it preferred that facilities “make thoughtful, informed staffing plans” based on the needs of residents.

Still, since 2014, health inspectors have cited one of every eight nursing homes for having too few nurses, federal records show.

Payroll records at Beechtree show that on its highest staffed days, it had one aide for every eight residents, but there was only one aide for 18 residents at the lowest staffing level.CreditHeather Ainsworth for The New York Times

“They get burned out and they quit,” said Adam Chandler, whose mother lived at Beachtree until her death earlier this year. “It’s been constant turmoil, and it never ends.”

Medicare’s payroll records for the nursing homes showed that there were, on average, 11 percent fewer nurses providing direct care on weekends and 8 percent fewer aides. Staffing levels fluctuated substantially during the week as well, when an aide at a typical home might have to care for as few as nine residents or as many as 14.

A family council forms

Beechtree actually gets its best Medicare rating in the category of staffing, with four stars. (Its inspection citations and the frequency of declines in residents’ health dragged its overall star rating down to two of five.)

To Stan Hugo, a retired math teacher whose wife, Donna, 80, lives at Beechtree, staffing levels have long seemed inadequate. In 2017, he and a handful of other residents and family members became so dissatisfied that they formed a council to scrutinize the home’s operation. Medicare requires nursing home administrators to listen to such councils’ grievances and recommendations.

Sandy Ferreira, who makes health care decisions for Effie Hamilton, a blind resident, said Ms. Hamilton broke her arm falling out of bed and has been hospitalized for dehydration and septic shock.

“Almost every problem we’ve had on the floor is one that could have been alleviated with enough and well-trained staff,” Mrs. Ferreira said.

Beechtree declined to discuss individual residents, but said it had investigated these complaints and did not find inadequate staffing on those days. Mr. Camerota also said that Medicare does not count assistants it hires to handle the simplest duties like making beds.

In recent months, Mr. Camerota said, Beechtree “has made major strides in listening to and addressing concerns related to staffing at the facility.”

Mr. Hugo agreed that Beechtree has increased daytime staffing during the week under the prodding of his council. On nights and weekends, he said, it still remained too low.

His wife has Alzheimer’s, uses a wheelchair and no longer talks. She enjoys music, and Mr. Hugo placed earphones on her head so she could listen to her favorite singers as he spoon-fed her lunch in the dining room on a recent Sunday.

As he does each day he visits, he counted each nursing assistant he saw tending residents, took a photograph of the official staffing log in the lobby and compared it to what he had observed. While he fed his wife, he noted two aides for the 40 residents on the floor — half what Medicare says is average at Beechtree.

“Weekends are terrible,” he said. While he’s regularly there overseeing his wife’s care, he wondered: “What about all these other residents? They don’t have people who come in.”

This article was produced in collaboration with Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation. The author is a reporter for Kaiser Health News.

A version of this article appears in print on July 8, 2018, on Page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: Nursing Homes Routinely Mask Low Staff Levels. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

Some states make it harder for those caring for an aging parent, according to a new survey.

Caring.com conducted a national survey to determine which states offer the best overall cost of living, and accessibility to senior support programs and resources for caregivers.

While some states were praised for providing an affordable and helpful environment for caregivers, other states inevitable ended up at the bottom of the list.

“It hasn’t always been so expensive, but the cost of caring for our parents is so out of control now that it has the capacity to actually bankrupt families,” Jim Miller, a senior advocate and author of SavvySenior.org, said in the report. “I think that’s why it’s so important to consider these costs far in advance of needing to provide care so you’re prepared instead of panicked.”

These 10 states, in descending order, were deemed the most expensive for caregivers by Caring.com:

10. Maine

While the state is expensive for seniors, the availability of senior care support and services ranked 13th overall. The median cost for a home health aide was $4,500 more than the national average. Nursing home expenses were $24,00 more than the national average, according to caring.com.

9. New Hampshire

The state ranked 44th for cost of living. Costs for a nursing home stay for a year were over $100,000, well above the national average. The state did rank well for offering accessible senior programs and caregiver resources.

8. Delaware

For your aging parent to live in a nursing home in Delaware, expect to pay the median price of $127,750. The state ranked 28th in the survey for senior and caregiver programs and support.

7. New York

Earning a good rank for senior support and services, the state offers numerous resources for caregivers and seniors. While the costs for a home health aide and assisted living are competitive, the median for a nursing home is well above the national average by over $40,000.

A new federal law is designed to address the growing problem of elder abuse. The law supports efforts to better understand, prevent, and combat both financial and physical elder abuse.

The prevalence of elder abuse is hard to calculate because it is underreported, but according to the National Council on Aging, approximately 1 in 10 Americans age 60 or older have experienced some form of elder abuse. In 2011, a MetLife study estimated that older Americans are losing $2.9 billion annually to elder financial abuse.

The bipartisan Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act of 2017 authorizes the Department of Justice (DOJ) to take steps to combat elder abuse. Under the new law, the federal government must do the following:

Create an elder justice coordinator position in federal judicial districts, at the DOJ, and at the Federal Trade Commission

Operate a resource group to assist prosecutors in pursuing elder abuse cases

The law requires the DOJ to collect data on elder abuse and investigations as well as provide training and support to states to fight elder abuse. The law specifically targets email fraud by expanding the definition of telemarketing fraud to include email fraud. Prohibited actions include email solicitations for investment for financial profit, participation in a business opportunity, or commitment to a loan.

The law also addresses flaws in the guardianship system that have led to elder abuse. The law enables the government to provide demonstration grants to states’ highest courts to assess adult guardianship and conservatorship proceedings and implement changes.

“Exploiting and defrauding seniors is cowardly, and these crimes should be addressed as the reprehensible acts they are,” said Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a co-sponsor of the legislation, adding that the legislation “sends a clear signal from Congress that combating elder abuse and exploitation should be top priority for law enforcement.”

A Health Care Proxy is someone you appoint to make health related decisions for you, in the event you can not.

Who decides that I’m not able to make my own healthcare decisions?

Your attending physician will decide whether you lack the capacity to make health care decisions. The decision is made in writing. A second doctor also must be consulted in the case of decisions to withdraw or withhold life-sustaining treatment. You will be given notice of these decisions if there is any indication that you can understand it. If you object to this decision or to a decision made by your agent, your objection or decision will prevail unless a court determines that you are unable to make health care decisions.

What if I recover the ability to make my own healthcare decisions?

Your doctor is required to decide whether you can make your own health care decisions and confirm it in writing each time your doctor plans on acting on your agent’s health care decisions. If you have recovered the ability to make your own decisions, your agent will not be able to make any more decision for your unless you again lose the abilities to make them.

How do I complete a Healthcare Proxy?

In New York State, laws set forth the requirements for completing a health care proxy. You must be at least 18 years old and have the capacity to make your own decisions at the time you complete the proxy.

You must state your name and the name of the person you want to act as your agent, and state that your want the agent to have the authority to make health care decisions for you. You also must sign and date your health care proxy in the presence of two adult witnesses who are not names as your agent and have the witnesses sign the proxy. Please note that there are special rules for the execution of a proxy by residents of psychiatric facilities.

Please note that you do not need to have a lawyer draft your health care proxy, however, you may wish to consult with a lawyer for advice about a health care proxy.

You can create a proxy that lasts for a limited period of time by including in the document the dates you want the proxy to be valid. You can also revoke your proxy if you wish and you are competent to do so.

If you have appointed your husband or wife as your agent, and then you divorce or legally separate, the appointment will be revoked unless you specify that you do not wish to revoke it. You should review your proxy periodically to be sure that it continues to reflect your wishes.

Where should I keep my Proxy?

It’s best to give a copy of your proxy to your doctor as well as to the agent named in your proxy. If you revoke your proxy, be sure to notify whomever you gave a copy of the proxy. Upon entering a hospital you may give it to an administrator in charge, as your doctor, or attending physician may not be there when you arrive.

What if I don’t want a Healthcare Proxy?

You can’t be required to execute a health care proxy as a condition of receiving health care services or insurance. Also, the lack of a health care proxy or other specific instructions does not crate any presumptions regarding your wishes about health care.

Guardianships are set up to protect and help people in need, such as an elder or loved one unable to care for their own financial or health related well being. When is it required? What is the process?

When is a Guardianship Required For An Adult?

It may be necessary to petition a court to appoint a legal guardian for persons: Who have a physical or mental problem that prevents them from taking care of their own basic needs; Who as a result are in danger of substantial harm; and Who have no person already legally authorized to assume responsibility for them. Under some circumstances, it may be necessary for a court to appoint an emergency guardian, who can act on your behalf during a crisis (such as immediately following a car accident) until you regain your ability to make your own decisions.

How is a Guardian Appointed?

The precise procedure will vary to some degree from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The typical steps are as follows:The person seeking the appointment of a guardian files a petition with the probate court for the jurisdiction where the allegedly legally incapacitated person resides. This petitioner is often a relative, an administrator for a nursing home or health care facility, or other interested person. A petition is ordinarily accompanied by medical affidavits or other sworn statements which evidence the person’s incapacity, and either identifies the person or persons who desire to be named guardian or requests the appointment of a public guardian.The court arranges for any necessary evaluation of the allegedly legally incapacitated person. Often, this will involve the appointment of a “guardian ad litem”, a person who is appointed to provide an independent report to the court on behalf of the allegedly legally incapacitated person.

If appointed, the guardian ad litem will meet with the allegedly incapacitated person, inform that person of his or her legal rights, and report back to the court on the person’s wishes. The guardian ad litem may also speak to the petitioner, to health care providers, and to other interested individuals in order to provide the court with full information about the allegedly incapacitated person’s condition and prognosis. Depending upon state law, the court may appoint a doctor or professional to examine the allegedly incapacitated person. If the person contests the appointment of a guardian, a trial is scheduled during which sworn testimony will be given, and at the conclusion of which the judge will decide if the petitioner met the requisite burden of proof for the appointment of a guardian. The allegedly incapacitated person is ordinarily entitled to appointed counsel, if unable to afford a private attorney.If the allegedly incapacitated person consents to the petition, or is unable to respond to inquiries due to disability, the court will hold a hearing at which witnesses will provide sworn testimony to support the allegations in the petition. If the evidentiary basis is deemed sufficient, the guardian will be appointed.If a guardian is appointed, the judge will issue the guardian legal documents (often called “letters of authority”) permitting the guardian to act on behalf of the legally incapacitated person.What Are a Guardian’s Duties?The guardian makes decisions about how the person lives, including their residence, health care, food, and social activity. The guardian is supposed to consider the wishes of the incapacitated person, as well as their previously established valued, when making these living decisions. The guardian is intended to monitor the legally incapacitated person, to make sure that the person lives in the most appropriate, least restrictive environment possible, with appropriate food, clothing, social opportunities, and medical care.A guardian may be required to post a bond, unless the requirement is waived by the court. In most jurisdictions where bond is required, waivers are routine.

What’s the purpose of court supervision?

The court supervises the guardian’s choices on behalf of the ward. After the initial appointment of a guardian, an initial review is usually scheduled, followed by annual reports by the guardian to the court. The purpose of this supervision is to ensure that the legally incapacitated person is in fact benefiting from the most appropriate, least restrictive living environment possible, with appropriate food, clothing, social opportunities, and medical care.

Avoiding Guardianship:

It is possible to avoid the necessity of a guardianship through estate planning. A good estate plan will include a medical power of attorney which will enable a trusted individual to make health care decisions for you in the event of incapacity, and a general durable power of attorney to permit a trusted individual to manage your personal affairs. To a considerable extent, those documents can specify how you wish to live, and how you wish to be treated, in the event of disability – whereas a court or guardian may make decisions with which you would disagree. In most cases, when these documents have been executed in accord with the laws of your state, it will not be necessary for your loved ones to seek the appointment of a guardian or conservator should something happen to you – something that can be cumbersome and emotionally taxing at an already difficult time.

A Pennsylvania appeals court holds that a son is required to pay for his mother’s care under the state’s filial responsibility law even though the mother does not have outstanding medical bills and the son claims he had an abusive childhood. Eori v. Eori(Pa. Super. Ct., No. 1342 WDA 2014, Aug. 7, 2015).Embed from Getty Images
Joseph Eori is attorney-in-fact for his mother, Dolly Eori, who requires 24-hour care. Ms. Eori lives with Mr. Eori, and her medical and caregiving expenses exceed her income.

Mr. Eori filed a complaint on behalf of his mother seeking filial support from his brother, Joshua Ryan. Mr. Ryan objected, arguing, among other things, that his mother was not indigent because she did not have outstanding medical bills and that he had an abusive childhood. Pennsylvania’s filial responsibility law negates the support obligation if the parent abandoned the child for a 10-year period. The trial court granted the petition for support, and Mr. Ryan appealed.

The Pennsylvania Superior Court affirms, holding that Mr. Ryan is required to provide support to his mother. The court agrees with the trial court’s decision that the filial responsibility law doesn’t require a showing of unpaid bills or liabilities to justify a claim. In addition, the court affirms the trial court’s ruling that while Mr. Ryan may not have had an ideal childhood, there was no evidence that his mother abandoned him.

The standard under which a person is deemed to require a guardian differs from state to state. And even within some states the standards are different, depending on whether a complete guardianship or only a conservatorship over finances is being sought. Generally a person is judged to be in need of guardianship when he or she shows a lack of capacity to make responsible decisions.

A person cannot be declared incompetent simply because he or she makes irresponsible or foolish decisions, but only if the person is shown to lack the capacity to make sound decisions. For example, a man may not be declared incompetent because he spends money in ways that seem odd to someone else. In addition, a developmental disability or mental illness is not, by itself, enough to have a person declared incompetent.

Guardianship and Conservatorship

Every adult is assumed to be capable of making his or her own decisions unless a court determines otherwise. If an adult becomes incapable of making responsible decisions due to a mental disability, the court will appoint a substitute decision maker, often called a “guardian,” but in some states called a “conservator” or other term. Guardianship is a legal relationship between a competent adult (the “guardian”) and a person who because of incapacity is no longer able to take care of his or her own affairs (the “ward”).

The guardian can be authorized to make legal, financial, and health care decisions for the ward. Depending on the terms of the guardianship and state practices, the guardian may or may not have to seek court approval for various decisions. In many states, a person appointed only to handle finances is called a “conservator.”

Some incapacitated individuals can make responsible decisions in some areas of their lives but not others. In such cases, the court may give the guardian decision making power over only those areas in which the incapacitated person is unable to make responsible decisions (a so-called “limited guardianship”). In other words, the guardian may exercise only those rights that have been removed from the ward and delegated to the guardian.

Incapacity

The standard under which a person is deemed to require a guardian differs from state to state. In some states the standards are different, depending on whether a complete guardianship or a conservatorship over finances only is being sought. Generally a person is judged to be in need of guardianship when he or she shows a lack of capacity to make responsible decisions. A person cannot be declared incompetent simply because he or she makes irresponsible or foolish decisions, but only if the person is shown to lack the capacity to make sound decisions. For example, a person may not be declared incompetent simply because he spends money in ways that seem odd to someone else. Also, a developmental disability or mental illness is not, by itself, enough to declare a person incompetent.

Process

In most states, anyone interested in the proposed ward’s well-being can request a guardianship. An attorney is usually retained to file a petition for a hearing in the probate court in the proposed ward’s county of residence. Protections for the proposed ward vary greatly from state to state, with some simply requiring that notice of the proceeding be provided and others requiring the proposed ward’s presence at the hearing. The proposed ward is usually entitled to legal representation at the hearing, and the court will appoint an attorney if the allegedly incapacitated person cannot afford a lawyer.

At the hearing, the court attempts to determine if the proposed ward is incapacitated and, if so, to what extent the individual requires assistance. If the court determines that the proposed ward is indeed incapacitated, the court then decides if the person seeking the role of guardian will be a responsible guardian.

A guardian can be any competent adult — the ward’s spouse, another family member, a friend, a neighbor, or a professional guardian (an unrelated person who has received special training). A competent individual may nominate a proposed guardian through a durable power of attorney in case she ever needs a guardian.

The guardian need not be a person at all — it can be a non-profit agency or a public or private corporation. If a person is found to be incapacitated and a suitable guardian cannot be found, courts in many states can appoint a public guardian, a publicly financed agency that serves this purpose. In naming someone to serve as a guardian, courts give first consideration to those who play a significant role in the ward’s life — people who are both aware of and sensitive to the ward’s needs and preferences. If two individuals wish to share guardianship duties, courts can name co-guardians.

Reporting Requirements

Courts often give guardians broad authority to manage the ward’s affairs. In addition to lacking the power to decide how money is spent or managed, where to live and what medical care he or she should receive, wards also may not have the right to vote, marry or divorce, or carry a driver’s license. Guardians are expected to act in the best interests of the ward, but given the guardian’s often broad authority, there is the potential for abuse. For this reason, courts hold guardians accountable for their actions to ensure that they don’t take advantage of or neglect the ward.

The guardian of the property inventories the ward’s property, invests the ward’s funds so that they can be used for the ward’s support, and files regular, detailed reports with the court. A guardian of the property also must obtain court approval for certain financial transactions. Guardians must file an annual account of how they have handled the ward’s finances. In some states guardians must also give an annual report on the ward’s status. Guardians must offer proof that they made adequate residential arrangements for the ward, that they provided sufficient health care and treatment services, and that they made available educational and training programs, as needed. Guardians who cannot prove that they have adequately cared for the ward may be removed and replaced by another guardian.

Alternatives to Guardianship

Because guardianship involves a profound loss of freedom and dignity, state laws require that guardianship be imposed only when less restrictive alternatives have been tried and proven to be ineffective. Less restrictive alternatives that should be considered before pursuing guardianship include:

Power of Attorney.A power of attorney is the grant of legal rights and powers by a person (the principal) to another (the agent or attorney-in-fact). The attorney-in-fact, in effect, stands in the shoes of the principal and acts for him or her on financial, business or other matters. In most cases, even when the power of attorney is immediately effective, the principal does not intend for it to be used unless and until he or she becomes incapacitated.

Representative or Protective Payee.This is a person appointed to manage Social Security, Veterans’ Administration, Railroad Retirement, welfare or other state or federal benefits or entitlement program payments on behalf of an individual.

Conservatorship. In some states this proceeding can be voluntary, where the person needing assistance with finances petitions the probate court to appoint a specific person (the conservator) to manage his or her financial affairs. The court must determine that the conservatee is unable to manage his or her own financial affairs, but nevertheless has the capacity to make the decision to have a conservator appointed to handle his or her affairs.

Revocable trust.A revocable or “living” trust can be set up to hold an older person’s assets, with a relative, friend or financial institution serving as trustee. Alternatively, the older person can be a co-trustee of the trust with another individual who will take over the duties of trustee should the older person become incapacitated.

Another case handled by Brian A. Raphan, P.C. was on the Cover Page of the New York Law Journal last week.

I was appointed as Special Referee by the Supreme Court of the State of New York to perform a forensic review of Nassau County attorney Martha Brosius’ handling of a senior citizen’s financial affairs. Brian uncovered many undocumented and improper financial transactions and filed his detailed analysis to the Court. As a result of my report, criminal actions were commenced against attorney Brosius, which ultimately led to a guilty plea. Brosius now faces 6-12 years behind bars. Of course, she will lose her license to practice law. Another win for the good guys!

A Long Island elder law attorney has admitted to embezzling more than $797,000 from her clients over a four-year period, the Queens District Attorney’s Office announced on Tuesday.

Martha Brosius, 52, of Brosius & Associates of Great Neck, appeared Tuesday before Acting Supreme Court Justice Helene Gugerty and pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree grand larceny and one count of scheme to defraud, according to a news release from Queens District Attorney Richard Brown’s Office.

“The defendant has admitted to breaching her fiduciary duty and unjustly enriching herself at the expense of her client,” Brown said in the release. Brosius was indicted for the offenses in 2013. Her clients included a 77-year-old man who had been deemed mentally incapable and for whom Brosius served as legal guardian, as well as two brothers who retained Brosius to sell their deceased father’s estate and establish a special-needs trust for their disabled sister, who was the sole heir to the father’s estate.

Brosius is scheduled to appear before Gugerty on Aug. 12 for sentencing. Gugerty has indicated that her prison sentence would range between four and 12 years. Brosius is a graduate of the St. John’s University School of Law and was admitted to the bar in 2003. According to the Office of Court Administration website, she has not been publicly disciplined. Her guilty plea will subject her to mandatory disbarment.

Assistant District Attorneys James Liander and Yvonne Francis appeared for the Queens District Attorney’s Office.

• • •

“Improper use of an adult’s funds, property, or resources by another individual is elder abuse. This includes, but is not limited to, fraud, embezzlement, forgery, falsifying records, coerced property transfers, or denial of access to assets.”

TO REPORT FINANCIAL EXPLOITATION OF ELDERS IN NY STATE Click Here.Or Call 844-697-3505

The need to protect your assets is always at hand. Planning for long-term care with an elder law attorney can help protect your assets for the in home spouse and heirs. Medicaid Planning or Life Care Planning helps to ensure that you or your loved one get the best possible long-term care and the highest possible quality of life, whether at home, in an assisted living facility, or in a nursing home. The following article brings this issue to light.

To Collect Debts, Nursing Homes Are Seizing Control Over Patients.

Lillian Palermo tried to prepare for the worst possibilities of aging. An insurance executive with a Ph.D. in psychology and a love of ballroom dancing, she arranged for her power of attorney and health care proxy to go to her husband, Dino, eight years her junior, if she became incapacitated. And in her 80s, she did.

Mr. Palermo, who was the lead singer in a Midtown nightclub in the 1960s when her elegant tango first caught his eye, now regularly rolls his wife’s wheelchair to the piano at the Catholic nursing home in Manhattan where she ended up in 2010 as dementia, falls and surgical complications took their toll. He sings her favorite songs, feeds her home-cooked Italian food, and pays a private aide to be there when he cannot.

But one day last summer, after he disputed nursing home bills that had suddenly doubled Mrs. Palermo’s copays, and complained about inexperienced employees who dropped his wife on the floor, Mr. Palermo was shocked to find a six-page legal document waiting on her bed.

It was a guardianship petition filed by the nursing home, Mary Manning Walsh, asking the court to give a stranger full legal power over Mrs. Palermo, now 90, and complete control of her money.

Few people are aware that a nursing home can take such a step. Guardianship cases are difficult to gain access to and poorly tracked by New York State courts; cases are often closed from public view for confidentiality. But the Palermo case is no aberration. Interviews with veterans of the system and a review of guardianship court data conducted by researchers at Hunter College at the request of The New York Times show the practice has become routine, underscoring the growing power nursing homes wield over residents and families amid changes in the financing of long-term care.

In a random, anonymized sample of 700 guardianship cases filed in Manhattan over a decade, Hunter College researchers found more than 12 percent were brought by nursing homes. Some of these may have been prompted by family feuds, suspected embezzlement or just the absence of relatives to help secure Medicaid coverage. But lawyers and others versed in the guardianship process agree that nursing homes primarily use such petitions as a means of bill collection — a purpose never intended by the Legislature when it enacted the guardianship statute in 1993.

At least one judge has ruled that the tactic by nursing homes is an abuse of the law, but the petitions, even if they are ultimately unsuccessful, force families into costly legal ordeals.

“It’s a strategic move to intimidate,” said Ginalisa Monterroso, who handled patient Medicaid accounts at the Mary Manning Walsh Nursing Home until 2012, and is now chief executive of Medicaid Advisory Group, an elder care counseling business that was representing Mr. Palermo in his billing dispute. “Nursing homes do it just to bring money.”

“It’s so cruel,” she added. “Mr. Palermo loves his wife, he’s there every single day, and they just threw him to the courts.”

Brett D. Nussbaum, a lawyer who represents Mary Manning Walsh and many other nursing homes, said Mr. Palermo’s devotion to his wife was irrelevant to the decision to seek a court-appointed guardian in July, when the billing dispute over his wife’s care reached a stalemate, with an outstanding balance approaching $68,000.

“The Palermo case is no different than any other nursing home bill that they had difficulty collecting,” Mr. Nussbaum said, estimating that he had brought 5,000 guardianship cases himself in 21 years of practice. “When you have families that do not cooperate and an incapacitated person, guardianship is a legitimate means to get the nursing home paid.”

Guardianshiptransfers a person’s legal rights to make some or all decisions to someone appointed by the court — usually a lawyer paid with the ward’s money. It is aimed at protecting people unable to manage their affairs because of incapacity, and who lack effective help without court action. Legally, it can supplant a power of attorney and a health care proxy.